Goremand
Goremand, also known as the Death Devourer (Death Jester in Japanese), is a major antagonist in the video game Trials of Mana. He is a demonic Death Clown serving as the Masked Mage's main agent and the archenemy of the beast-man Kevin, one of the six playable heroes. Another Death Clown of the same name serves as a minor antagonist in the game Sword of Mana. Characteristics Goremand is an immensely powerful Greater Demon from the Underworld of Mavolia (the Mana counterpart of Hell), in service to the Masked Mage. He is a magic-wielding, clown-like Reaper, who travels through portals of darkness, causes illusions of all sorts, and feeds upon dead souls, which he considers a delicacy. He is vicious, sadistic, bloodthirsty, very arrogant and always hungry for souls, with a false veneer of politeness and a macabre sense of humor, and he enjoys taunting and disparaging people, while bluntly pushing their buttons. Game Introduction Goremand offered his services to King Gauser of the Beast Kingdom of Ferolia, who named him his advisor. He bewitched Kevin's only friend, the wolf pup Karl, turning him into a feral monster and forcing Kevin to kill him in self-defence, awakening his beast-man powers. A grieving Kevin furiously attacked his father, only to get soundly trounced and thrown away. (It is revealed much later that Karl's death was an illusion, which the king knew and viewed as a test of Kevin's worth. The King later dug up and healed Karl.) Goremand used the beast-men's grudge against humans' prejudice and their craving for a purpose, compelling them into invading the fortified city of Jade and attack the Holy City of Wendel. Little did they know that he was trying to free the Benevodons from the Mana Stones. He tricked Kevin, telling him that the power of the Stones could resurrect Karl, prompting the prince to start a journey. Later, Goremand saw Heath, a cleric of Wendel kill three beast-men who attacked him and his friend the half-elf Charlotte (one of the heroes). Sensing the boy's huge potential, he effortlessly knocked him out with a spell. He swatted Charlotte away and vanished with his victim, who was brainwashed by the Masked Mage. ''Trials of Mana'' If the player choses Kevin or the half-elf Charlotte as the first of the three playable characters, the Masked Mage will serve as the final boss and Goremand will serve as a major villain. If not, the Masked Mage and Heath are killed by the game's final boss when the heroes reach the Mana Sanctuary. Goremand is then forced to tell the heroes of his situation, before trying in vain to escape the villains' generals. When the party returns to Ferolia, they see Goremand eat the soul of a witch from the Magic Kingdom of Altena and using anotherors to unseal the Mana Stone of the Moon, trouncing Kevin and Charlotte before leaving them to fight Ludgar, General of the Ferolia Army. They later free the city of Jad from the beast-men's occupation. When the heroes reach the Mana Sanctuary, Goremand helps his lord and Heath to destroy the other evil faction. He then waits with Heath for the heroes to obtain the legendary Sword of Mana from the Mana Goddess, and abducts the heroes' Faerie guide. The heroes must give up the Sword in exchange of the Faerie's life. Goremand is first harmed by its Holy Power, but Heath heals him and they bend it to their wills, freeing the Benevodons, before unleashing their armies. After the Benevodons are destroyed, Goremand cloaks himself with illusions to ambush the heroes in the Jungle of Illusion and can only be found with the Mirage Mirror. After putting an end to his sick mind games, they storm the Mirage Palace where the Masked Mage and Heath are waiting for them. Boss Battle Goremand is a considerably powerful boss, at level 44 and with 12606 life-points, who can put up a serious challenge. He divides himself into three clowns, who jump around and strike the heroes with their scythes. The real Goremand is the only one casting spells, but he always hides between his doubles. He uses the strongest spells of the Wind, Fire, Water and Earth elements, and the weakest spells of the Shadow and Light elements. He can cast a spell on every hero, which increases its power, and his most dangerous attack Roulette Spin strikes at random for a one-hit-kill. Using multi-target spell to detect the one suffering damage or targeting each clown with a distinct hero until he is found is a good tactic. Then he must be harassed as much as possible. He has no elemental weakness but magic is not the best choice, contrary to weapons and special attacks. Be careful, for he violently counterattacks when hit with a too powerful technique. ''Rise of Mana'' Goremand, along with the Crimson Wizard and Belladonna, make cameo appearances in the mobile phone game Rise of Mana. They serve both as bosses and allies assisting the heroes, even against themselves. They can be faced individually or all together. This game features two protagonists from warring species of the Spirit Realm, the divine Rasta and demonic Daruka, who are sent to the physical planes sharing a body and forced to cooperate. In the end, everything is revealed to have been a successful plot of the Mana Goddess herself to bring peace between the two species. As a boss, Goremand fights along two powerful werewolves. He jumps around swiftly and swipes his scythe, stabs the ground and performs spinning strikes, swings it to send a yellow energy blade, spins it to conjure a tornado, and conjures a green lightning bolt that blasts the ground if it strikes the heroes. The werewolves strike with punches and kicks and surround themselves with a purple aura to attack. Goremand is powerful but not that hard to defeat. The heroes just need to dodge his attacks and retaliate, while dealing with the monsters on the sides. When fought alongside the other two, they form a considerably dangerous team that unleash long-range and close range combos. Be very careful and dodge and counterattack rather than rushing blindly. ''Circle of Mana'' Like nearly every character of the Mana series, Goremand is playable in the card-based role-playing game Circle of Mana. The characters are played as cards to save the Mana Tree from monsters, and can gain power, equipment and Class Changes. Several cards featuring him are available, each evolving following a distinct path. ''Sword of Mana'' Another Death Devourer appears in this remake of the first game: Final Fantasy Adventure. While Dawn of Mana, Children of Mana, Heroes of Mana and Trials of Mana are chronologically tied, most games were stated by the developers to take place in distinct continuities, making the two Goremand counterparts. His looks and powers are the same, but he is even crueler and creepier, with an even darker sense of humor, and his false courtesy does not veil his scorn. Goremand serves as one of the major henchmen of the Dark Lord (the counterpart of sort to the Dark Majesty), alongside the mage Julius and later the shapeshifting Demon Lady Isabella (Belladonnaors counterpart). In stark contrast to his counterpart's staunch loyalty for the Masked Mage in Trials of Mana, Goremand is a wild card who only sides with the one who can provide him with more souls to devour, and switches allegiances on a whim. Goremand works in the side-lines and the heroes never fight him. He appears when the Hero is forced to fight and kill the Dark Lord's brother Devius, in order to devour his soul. After the heroes defeat the Dark Lord, he appears and taunts the Dark Lord and his distraught lover Isabella, before eating his former lord's soul and stealing the Mana Pendant from Isabella for his new liege, the archmage Julius. Enraged, Isabella reverts to her true form and attacks him, but he manages to escape. Goremand later helps the heroes reach and confront Julius before fleeing again, but he only earns their disgusted scorn. His final fate is left unclear, but it can be guessed that Isabella will track him down relentlessly until she can kill him. ''Lord of Vermilion III'' Goremand, the Crimson Wizard and Belladonna make cameo appearances in the crossover arcade strategy game Lord of Vermilion III, which features collectible cards and battles in open space while controlling units, consisting in characters from many Square Enix games. Trivia *In the original Japanese game, Goremand is only known by his title. *His English name is a mix of "gore" and "gourmand" (French for "greedy for food"), referencing his consumption of dead souls. *For many years, he was known as the Death Jester in the unofficial fan-translation, a derivation of his nature as a death-themed, Monster Clown. Category:Fantasy Villains Category:Video Game Villains Category:Contradictory Category:Male Category:Demon Category:Collector of Souls Category:Brainwashers Category:Enforcer Category:Spy Category:Murderer Category:Archenemy Category:Status Dependent on Version